Neighbor's Dogs attack - your opinion??

[NewHopePoultry]

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[drumstick diva]

In re: the pregnant cat killed by stray dogs. Gee was the cat pregnant by accident, because owner leaves unspayed cat loose to run the neighborhood? If the cat was so dear to them and pregnant, I would assume they intended for it to have kittens. Maybe even arranged the breeding. If so why would you want your precious cat running loose where it might lose it's life along with the unborn kittens?

All the head shaking in the world will never help me understand why people do such assinine things? And why was someone filming this event instead of driving off the dogs?

 

[Ibicella]

Depends on the situation. My preference is to gather evidence and hit them in the pocketbook for damages and involve animal control. If I can, I'd rather catch the dog and hand it over to the pound.

If this doesn't help, then the dog will be SSS'd.

 

[elevan]

I call animal control and have them issue a warning to the owner of the offending dog. I inform animal control that they should make clear that I will follow through with the full extent of my rights to protect my livestock. I have lost a goat kid to a loose dog who got into our field and will not allow a dog to take down another of my critters. Animal control always calls me back with the details of their conversation with the dog owner and reminds me that if I choose to shoot to please shoot to kill with a clean shot. I've never had to "dispatch" a dog in this way but if I did I would then turn said dog over to AC so that they could file charges against the owner for their dog attacking my livestock. This way allows me to handle the problem without ever having to personally confront the owner and my legal rights are protected. If the dog is simply on my property and not going after my livestock, I catch them and turn them over to the animal control officer.

I think your ordinance states injure in case you don't get a clean shot off, but I would never allow an animal to suffer even if it did make my critters suffer.

 

[noodleroo]

Quote:
This was caught on a home security camera and turned over to the news crew. No one was just standing there filming. The cat was on its own front porch. It is not that unusual for cats to be allowed to go outside unsupervised; not saying its a good idea, just saying it happens. As long as the cat wasn't bothering anyone else, I have no problem with it being outside in the context of this thread. The point of me posting it was to illustrate the possiblility of pack behavour in dogs that are allowed to roam freely. As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be a problem with cats forming packs.

 

[WillieBoy]

Wow...lots to address in this thread..! I'll start with the cat caught on camera being butchered on its own front porch.I've owned dogs and cats, my last two cats adoptd me..! Yes, they came to me hungry and homeless from who knows where,i had them both fixed. My cats hang out around my property all the time, they meow and go outside to poop/pee/whatever...I don't do kitty litter boxes..My cats have every perfect right to hang out and be safe from roaming dogs on my land.If i see a dog attacking my cat on my land, i will kill that dog/dogs...To say my pregnant or not cat is some how responsible for its own demise,simply because its hanging out in it own territory is a crock of crap.!
I have over 50 laying hens, any dogs,humans or other domestic creatures will be dealt with harshy if caught messing with my hens.My property is fenced, my hens free range on my land only.I expect and have had losses from nature, non-domestic creatures, which is to be expected.I trap and dispose of raccoons,opussoms,etc..that take an interest and get to close to my hen houses as any responsible livestock owner should.If your not willing to protect your livestock,you shouldn't own any.
I've been through the " talk to the neighbor bull and call animal control"...it doesn't work for me where i live( N.Y).. we have leash laws, blah, blah ,blah...to many dog owners don't care to listen.So thats why if i have a problem with a free ranging dog, i simply SSS..I've done the talking to dog owners, i've called the local dog enforcement officer. You know what, the free rangng dogs are still running free. Hey, do what you think is right, i know what i have to do.
However, i do not believe in making the predator suffer. To poison any animal(other than a rat/mouse) with anti-freezeis a twisted act...! I love my hens, some have been pets for years, i'm sorry but i have zero tolerance for chicken killng dogs/cats...I have a RIGHT to protect my animals on my land. I don't care if its the dog or owners fault, i won't tolerate my livestock being terrorized and killed...!!

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Not trying to debate, but had to address this:


WillieBoy said:
Wow...lots to address in this thread..! I'll start with the cat caught on camera being butchered on its own front porch.I've owned dogs and cats, my last two cats adoptd me..! Yes, they came to me hungry and homeless from who knows where,i had them both fixed. My cats hang out around my property all the time, they meow and go outside to poop/pee/whatever...I don't do kitty litter boxes..My cats have every perfect right to hang out and be safe from roaming dogs on my land.If i see a dog attacking my cat on my land, i will kill that dog/dogs...To say my pregnant or not cat is some how responsible for its own demise,simply because its hanging out in it own territory is a crock of crap.!

The issue here is what the OP SHOULD do about roaming neighbor dogs. The cat story came up as a secondary story. I stand by my response that if you REALLY care about your pets, you keep them contained in some way. SHOULD your cat deserve to die on its own "home turf" due to someone elses' pet attacking it? No, it should not. But can you GUARANTEE that your cat is not leaving your property and potentially killing someone elses' birds, rabbits, pet fish? If you aren't keeping your pet contained, you cannot guarantee that YOUR cat isn't causing someone else a problem. You wouldn't want a neighbor's dog to poop in your flower bed, but you'll let your cat do the same on your neighbor's lawn? You don't want the neighbor's dog attacking your chickens but you'll let your cat free to kill the neighbor's baby chicks? Cats get off easy, it seems like to me. If I see a cat loose in my area, out comes the live trap because I live in an area with a high occurrence of rabies and do not think someone's "kitty" should be traipsing around my property potentially killing chicks in my brooder or risking my childrens' safety. My daughter, thankfully, has never been bitten by a dog. But she has been bitten by a neighbor's mangy cat that came in our yard. To which the neighbor was "shocked" as her kitty would NEVER do such a thing. The neighbor now keeps her kitty in her house because she only gets one warning around here before kitty goes for a ride to A/C. (And if the kitty hadn't been up to date on its shots, Kitty would have gotten her owner in a world of trouble)

 

[GallusGal]

...To say my pregnant or not cat is some how responsible for its own demise,simply because its hanging out in it own territory is a crock of crap.!

It is NEVER the cat's fault if it is killed by a predator. However, owners of domesticated animals have an obligation to properly contain their animals. We fence or leash dogs. We corral horses and cattle. We coop chickens. We cage small pets. I do not understand the double standard that cats should be permitted to freely roam, especially considering that they are the one of the fastest growing rabies vectors in the US, the top invasive predatory mammal, the most overpopulated feral species, and quite frankly are subjected to a completely unnecessary ammount of suffering in the form of disease, injury, predation, and deliberate killing. Cats SHOULD be properly contained, be it indoors or in a cat proofed enclosure or fence (both of which exist and are no more an unreasonable expense than buying a fence or kennel for one's dog). If they are not, I don't feel the owners have the right to gripe about what befalls the cat any more than they would if their free roaming dog was hit by a car or shot by a neighbor.

I managed feral cat colonies and TNR programs for years and I am thoroughly disgusted by what I saw. Those cats did NOT deserve that life, but that life started for them when someone decided not to fix their cat and to let it roam around outdoors. The result is generations of cats (60-70 million of them, in fact) who have short, miserable lives of suffering. I can count on one hand the days I DIDN'T see one of my poor ferals limping in with injuries, or suffering horrible URIs, or writhing in agony from poisoning, or simply suddenly vanished. Someone even shot and burned a few members of one of my colonies once and left a note about not wanting them around. I have absolutely no compassion for people who let their cats wander about getting knocked up because they have a hang-up about spay/neuter or think "my kittens are adorable, people will give them great homes!" Because I've also worked for several animal shelters and I can tell you that the VAST majority of animals that get euthanized are cats, and the VAST majority of free roaming cats who obviously have owners because they are so friendly do not make it back out the doors if someone brings them in. 70%+ euth rates for cats are not odds stacked in the cat's favor.

There is NO fundamental difference between cats and other domesticated animals, and we have a responsibility to keep them safe through proper containment. I am actually surprised that on a forum where I see about a dozen posts daily complaining about free roaming dogs, that atitudes are so accepting of free roaming cats despite the fact that cats kill billions of wild animals annually and are also routinely a pest to poultry, rabbits, koi, and other domesticated animals.



Sorry to be contributing to the de-rail, but I agree 100% with BigDaddy'sGirl. As for how the OP should deal with the dog... I think that comes down to personal philosophy on how it should be dealt with. I would never kill a dog or any predator for doing what is in its nature. I assume, if predators get at my pets, that it was due to some failure on my part to keep them safe and secure. I am, however, all for trapping and removing said animals. I am aware that in some states there are legality issues for relocating such animals and would happily call someone legally licensed to do so... but frankly, I'd also happily do it myself in defiance of the law if I had no other way to protect my pets and the choice was "kill it or move it." That being said, in most states the OP would be well within thier rights to shoot the dog if they truly wanted to and felt they were OK with it. So the ball is effectively in their court. My only hope is that they are able to protect their birds and not suffer losses like this ever again, regardless of how they do it, because no chicken owner should have to go through the sadness of losing beloved birds.​